Bitten's Sweet Potato Salad

I like the color better on this picture. So much so I think I'll make this for tonight's get-together.
What do you think? Does one picure look more inviting than the other? I have another computer class next week and I'm going to focus on enhancing pictures. I think I need a better camera.




Well, I can't believe I didn't post this dish. It is one delicious recipe. We loved the taste of the sweet potatos in contrast to the sauteed purple onions, lots of cilantro and lime juice. The black beans added just the right amount of subduing taste. Check out N.Y.Times Bitten for the recipe

Bitten's polenta without fear plus Alexandra's Kitchen's take

Well, didn't get to cooking as soon as I wanted as we went to my H.S.reunion dinner/dance in Bay Area shortly after I got the box. Had a great time as I did get to talk to old friends and dance a few swing dances. On the way home through S.F. we went to a bakery/restaurant I had read about on Alexandra's Kitchen. Tartine's at 600 Guererro in the Mission. Worth the drive around and around the blocks to find parking. I won't go into all the goodies I bought but Tartine's has a bar/restaurant on Valencia that I plan to go back to. The menu looked divine.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, I cooked up Bitten's Polenta without Fear and Alexandra's take on a 1 person meal with stir-fried chard with onion & garlic on top of the polenta, with a fried egg on top of that. It was delicious. My photography doesn't do it justice.

Farm Fresh Oct. 22, 2009

Well, here it is another week has passed and I've been enjoying reading Bitten who makes the best recipes. I tried his Bok Choy with Shiitake and Oyster Sauce stir-fry with great results. I think it really helps that he makes little videos that you can access from the New York Times, Bitten on line. I added sliced scallops to this recipe and that's what I ate over rice. At the same meal I served a Beef Stew with Prunes to people who don't like seafood. Got this recipe also from Mark Bittman.

It's like Christmas when I open the door to get the newspaper in the morning and there is the box. I can't wait to open it and find out what treasures are inside. Today there was more fruit than vegetables which was okay with me. Purple pears, fuyu persimmons, black seedless grapes, and gala apples. A bunch of beets like last month plus swiss chard, arugula, green beans, yellow zuccini, red bell peppers, radishes and pumpkin. Can't decide where to start. More later

This tomato, cheese, red bell pepper & Japanese eggplant tart was delicious. I got the idea from Alexandra's Kitchen. I used her recipe with a few changes. Her photography is incredible and you will just have to prepare the dish. Look for the Tomato,Corn,cheese galette on the list of her posts.

Last produce of container garden

The remnants of the typhoon from Japan hit this week and really messed up my earthbox garden. But no hurting the Japanese eggplant and this morning I harvested a bunch along with some pretty small peppers. Still have cherry tomatoes although they tried kissing the ground during the storm. The other tomatoes are a pale orange which leads me to believe I should pick them & fry them up.

Bitten's recipes

Last night we had our Friday night Japanese Conversation class at my house. It's a fun get-together and we always have food and drink after the class. This is one of the desserts we ate. I got the recipe from The New York Times' Bitten's column. There was even a video so you could see how he made it. Boy, am I a fan of this column! This Almond Frittata is made in a most unusual way - check it out.

knitted project-don't let the picture scare you.

It's a great windy day - weather has dropped by almost 20 degrees- great for wearing a sweater that I just completed. The yarn for this sweater is bamboo and I thought it would be great for summer wear, what with all the lacy, open features of the knit. Turns out it is feel good yarn but very heavy and warm. Surprised me. So I will wear a cotton knit shirt under it in the spring & autumm. My knitting compadres at Rumpelstiltskin had many ideas on how to wear it.
Also had another computer class today and I'm learning another way to watermark the photos. Really a short cut from the first way I did it. But I haven't quite mastered it - so next week I'll go in with a lot more questions.
Now I'm picking up a long sleeve wool sweater I quit working on when summer hit. Only have the sleeves to finish. Piece of cake!
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Food

Well, I'm not really obsessed with food although this site mainly talks about food. So be it.
I want to share a site that has given me some incredible tastes lately. New York Time's Mark Bitten on Food has a video on his site that shows you how to make soba spinach salad that is delicious.
I brought this salad to my own birthday dinner this weekend. My daughter in law made a tandoori chicken bar-be-que that was delicious which she got from Cook Pad, a Japanese site. She even marinated thickly sliced onions in the tandoori sauce and then sauteed the onions while our son cooked the chicken on the barbeque. It was a great meal with some favorite people.
Our daughter and her husband gave me a birthday dinner that was as simple as it was delicious. It was a chili-dog with coleslaw and any condiment you wanted to add. I love lots of dijon mustard so that's what I added. Then the four of us watched a movie and then visited. It was another perfect birthday. The grandkids were doing their own activities so we got a taste of things to come. NO KIDS!
Using some of the tomatoes I've been growing in another of Bitten's recipe's, Pappa al Pomodoro, was a comfort food success the other night. I used a half a loaf of sour dough french bread but I think you could substitue using everything from pasta to rice and still have quite a success. After the tomatoes are gone, I plan to use canned chopped tomatoes.
Well no pictures. I should have photographed the Chirashi Zushi that I ordered when a friend took me out for my birthday but I didn't think about it. The Banzai do a good job with their sashimi.
Enough talk about food - till next time.
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